Normal people caught in embarrassing sex scandals take low profiles for long periods. For them, time, and lots of it, offers the only salve.

But in today's political world, it seems such scandals have become a kind of rite of passage for the ambitious, egotistical (and, yes, almost always male) politician. He resigns in disgrace only to re-enter politics a short while later, talking of personal redemption and lessons learned.

He is supposedly humbler, wiser and better able to connect with constituents. More likely, his desire for attention and affirmation transcends shame. His comeback is more about his own needs than a desire to serve the people.

A prime example of the species is Mark Sanford, the former Republican governor of South Carolina whose political career seemingly ended over an extramarital affair and the lie he told about hiking the Appalachian Trail when he was really in Argentina with his mistress. Sanford recently won back his old House seat in a conservative district where partisan politics apparently trump family values.

Then there is Anthony Weiner, the former Democratic congressman who famously tweeted lewd photos of his private areas. He's tied, or leading, in polls to become his party's nominee for New York mayor.

And now we have Eliot Spitzer, the former law-and-order attorney general and governor of New York, who resigned after his patronage of prostitutes came to light. This week Spitzer, a Democrat, announced plans to run for comptroller of New York City. He already has a double-digit polling lead, though some people wonder if he'll get enough signatures in time to get on the ballot.

Sex scandals, of course, are hardly new to politics. John F. Kennedy certainly set the bar high in this game, in an era when the press ignored presidential peccadilloes. Nor is private misconduct as egregious as betrayals involving graft or abuse of power.

Perhaps Americans, weary of sex scandals, are shifting toward a French-like indifference to their leaders' extramarital exploits. In a 2007 Gallup poll, 46% of respondents said it would bother them "not much" or "not at all" if a presidential candidate had an extramarital affair. This could be a sign of maturity that more voters are willing to separate sexual conduct from political competence.

But the trend toward rapid post-scandal re-entry into the arena carries a sadder and more pathological undercurrent. For many a contemporary male politician, it is not enough to be merely powerful. He has greater needs. He has to be liked, even adored, by constituents.

This kind of ego drives him into politics to begin with, and leads him into reckless conduct. And it compels him to come back again after the scandal, confident that he can face down the embarrassing questions and the ridicule.

The risk for voters is that the more forgiving they become, the more brazen and shameless their elected officials may get.

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